Ice Attracts The Ice Dragon
by JadeTheNerdyGirl
Summary: (NOT NATSUxGRAY) When coming home from getting Lucy, Team Natsu comes across a strange, injured girl who seems to be close to Natsu. Gray takes an immediate liking to this girl, learning that she uses similar magic as himself. Everything seems great, but is Layla hiding something? Rated T mainly for language. The story is about Gray, Natsu and Layla. LaylaxGray and a little NaLu.
1. Fire and Ice Reunite

The beginning of this story takes place after the Phantom Lord Arc, when Erza, Lucy, Natsu, Gray and Happy are on their way back to the Guild Hall from the Heartfilia Estate.

**Gray's POV:**

"I can't believe your house was so big Lucy!" Happy says with astonishment, "Why would you ever leave home?! You can afford all the fish you could ever want!"

"Is fish the only thing you ever think about, cat?" I say, sounding a little annoyed but in good spirits. We just won a large battle a few weeks back and Lucy was coming back to the guild. What wasn't there to be happy about?

"I don't think I've ever heard Happy talk about anything else," the blonde girl says with a sigh. She's cute enough, but not really my type when it comes to personality, "It's like fish is the only thing that exists in this world if you ask Happy."

"Aye!" the cat agrees, "Nothing is more important than fish!"

"Hey, what about me?!" Natsu protests, "I thought I was your buddy!"

"Ya, ya," Happy waves his hand dismissively, "But you're still not as important as fish."

"Some friend you a-" Natsu starts to say, then stops and grabs at where his scarf should be.

"Lost something, have we Pyro?" I say with a laugh. It's about time that fire maniac got a taste of some karma. He was also stealing stuff of mine, usually my underpants when I find myself without clothes on.

"Did you leave your scarf back at the Heartfilia mansion?" the scarlet haired wizard asks sternly, "If so you should go get it now and then hurry to catch up before we get to the train stat-" before Erza can even finish, Natsu had run off to get his scarf back from wherever it fell off.

It's kind of weird that he somehow managed to leave his scarf somewhere, now that I think about it. In all the time I've known Natsu, I've probably only seen him without that scarf a handful of times.

We continue to walk for another thirty minutes, talking about how the construction of the guild is coming along and other tediously boring topics before we reach the town where there's a train to take us back to Magnolia.

About to turn into the first street, I see a girl laying in the grass right outside of the town. Thinking nothing of it at first, I notice that there's a line of blood running down her face from a wound on her head, "Hey, guys, come over here!" I urge the others to me as I hurry to the girl's side.

She has very light blue hair, almost white it was so light. It reminds me a bit of the odd color ice has. Her green sweatshirt and jeans were dirty and torn in a few places.

From my right, I hear Lucy gasp, "She looks about our age, what do you think happened to her?"

"Don't know, but we should get her to an infirmary or at least try to help her ourselves," Erza says, seeming to already have a plan to help the situation.

Just as I'm about to try and stir her, a sharp pain hits me in the head and I hear an unfamiliar voice yelling, "Don't hurt her!"

Looking up I see a brown cat with wings, and a black vest glaring at me. Wait, that's not right. A cat with wings? There's another Happy? The blue cat in name was in shock, and flew over to the brown cat, "You're like me! You're a flying, talking cat!"

"What?!" Lucy, Erza, and I all yell in unison. The brown cat seems just as shocked as the rest of us, supposedly never having seen another species like himself before either.

"Yes, yes I am! Now get away from Layla! She's been hurt enough..." the cat lands next to the unconscious girl, trying to give a defiant look but it's obvious he knows he couldn't take us if we wanted to hurt either of them.

I don't move from my position by the girl's head, "We're not going to hurt her," I say with annoyance and reassurance, "We were going to try and help her."

The other Happy gives me a wary look, but seems to decide against his earlier perception of us, "If that's true, then please help her. I don't know how badly they hurt her."

"How badly _who _hurt her?" Erza asks, glaring towards the village. The other cat doesn't respond, just shaking his head.

Confident now, knowing that I won't be attacked by a second Happy, I move to shake the girl's, Layla's, shoulder lightly. Right as I touch her the brown cat seems to have noticed and quickly shouts at me, "I wouldn't do that if I were you!"

"Huh?" I shake the girl lightly and suddenly get forced back by a strong surge of magical energy.

Groaning, I stand and notice that it was a blast of ice magic that hit me. Looking at the girl who just moments ago was unconscious on the ground, I'm surprised to see her standing. Upon closer evaluation, I notice a large amount of magical energy coming from her. Why I didn't notice it before I'm not sure.

"Another ice wizard! She's like you Gray!" Lucy says excitedly. The blue haired girl gives me a quick look of confusion. When our eyes meet I see a look of determination that's covering what she really felt. Pain, fear, and nervousness. Her eyes are also a stark light blue, not so much the color of ice like her hair but of a very pale blue sky.

"Wh-Who are you guys? What do you want with me?" she demands, "Did they hurt you, Tobias?" she adds to the cat who lands on her shoulder, shaking his head. So that was the brown cat's name.

"My name's Lucy!" she says with a smile. It was like Lucy to look past everything else and immediately try to make friends. It was one of the things I grudgingly admire about her, "The blue cat is Happy, and these two are Erza and Gray."

Tobias whispers something in Layla's ear and she seems to relax a little, but still doesn't completely trust us, "You still didn't answer my second question, what do you want with me?" She tugs at something around her neck, and I notice with surprise that she has a scarf around her neck similar to Natsu's. It had the same pattern, but seemed a little smaller and... girlier? I guess.

"We were going to try and get you medical aid," Erza says, taking a step closer, "That wound on your head seems pretty bad."

"Huh?" it seems as if Layla didn't notice before, and puts a hand to her head, finally noticing the blood, "Oh this? It's nothing. I've had worst..." her voice is soft. It reminds me of Levi in a way. She seems like a timid and shy person, but I can tell there's something underneath she's not showing us. A stronger person that matched the amount of magical power I feel coming from her.

"I can tell you're a wizard," I say, "Considering that ice magic you attacked me with when I woke you. What guild are you apart of?"

Layla frowns and shakes her head, "I'm not apart of any guild."

"She's too busy looking for her parents to waste time in a guild," Tobias adds, getting a stern look from Layla who looks upset that he said that.

"Considering you asked, I'm guessing you four are apart of some guild?" Layla asks. She seems to be comfortable now, maybe confident in the fact that we're not here to hurt her? I'm not sure. Her body language is still tense as if she'll run at a moment's notice of danger, otherwise she seemed fine.

"That's right," Erza confirms.

"We're part of the Fairy Tail guild," I say, lifting my shirt to show her the guild mark on my chest while Lucy raises her hand to show Layla hers.

"Fairy... Tail...?" the name Fairy Tail seems to trigger something inside of the girl and her eyes widen, shock and hope shining in them. Even Tobias looks a little confused at her reaction, and we all wait for her to say what she's thinking, "Do... do you know a wizard nam-"

Before she can finish, Natsu comes rushing towards us with a grin, "Found it! Thanks for waiting guys, I got distracted b-" he had been looking around at us and his eyes were on Layla, almost as wide as hers were.

"Nat...su...?" Layla says, her voice shaking and tears start to form in her eyes. Taken aback I look at both of them, confused.

Before I can ask what's going on, Layla rushes Natsu with tears in her eyes and tackles him into a hug, both of them falling to the ground, "Natsu!"

"Can someone tell me what's going on?!" Happy says, him and Tobias flying above the pair in confusion.

**Editor's Note: I hope you liked the first chapter. :) I'll be trying to update this FanFic Daily. Reviews on what you think would be greatly appreciated. :D Thanks. :)**


	2. The Ice Dragon Slayer

**Layla's POV:**

_7 Years Ago:_

"You're too warm," I mumble uncomfortably. Natsu and I are in a small sleeping bag together, trying to get some sleep before we keep traveling in the morning.

"It's not my fault," he says with a yawn, "and look who's talking. You're making the air feel much colder than I'm used to."

I laugh a little and nod. It's funny how Natsu and I are such opposites considering we were raised together. It takes another few minutes, but soon he's asleep and sprawled out everywhere, taking up all the space in the sleeping bag. Having expected this to happen, since it has every night for the past week, I crawl out and lay in the cool night air, staring up at the stars.

Looking up in the sky is something I do often now. Searching. Searching for the parents who abandoned us. Igneel and Icieel, the fire and ice dragons who taught me Ice Dragon Slayer magic, and Natsu Fire Dragon Slayer magic. A little over a week ago everything was normal, but I woke up one morning to only Natsu. We waited for hours, and then a few days. Still we were alone.

I wrap my scarf around my face and neck, sighing sadly. This scarf was a gift from Icieel not too long ago, Natsu had gotten a similar one from Igneel. For the past few days our goal has been to search and find our foster parents.

Continuing to look up in the sky, I fall asleep with only my scarf around me.

"LAYLA LAYLA LAYLA!"

"WHAAAH!" I jump to my feet from surprise as my brother shakes me roughly, "What is it Natsu?!"

"It's time to go, I'm really hungry so we need to find some food now!" he says. Looking around it seems he's already packed up all of our stuff.

"Okay fine, let's go into the town down the hill," I mumble, yawning and rubbing my eyes with the scarf.

"Yes!"

Natsu grins and tackles me to the ground. Laughing I wrestle with him as we tumble down the hill. When we reach the bottom I use a little ice magic to get him off of me, "Come on, now isn't the time to play," I say, laughing, "You said that you were hungry so lets go get some food you goof."

The day was spent with me trying to get us supplies while Natsu messed around, getting into random brawls with other kids in town and eating any food people would give him. It was hard for me to get much of anything, since no one seemed to trust a nine year old girl with stuff that they didn't deem fit for 'little kids'.

An hour before sunset we sit back at the top of the hill, eating some chicken legs I got us in exchange for fixing a restaurant's freezer.

"Thanks for the food sis," Natsu says, "It's pretty good, but not cooked enough."

With a grin he sets his chicken on fire, and chars it to his liking. I laugh and shake my head a little, continuing to eat, "So where do you want to head to next? I can't think of anywhere we haven't looked that we've been to with Igneel before."

"Hmm... I don't know."

I look over at him and frown. I'm used to my brother being more in charge of what the two of us do. We sit in silence as we finishes our food, getting a little as Natsu lets out a large belch after finishing his food.

"I was thinking we should stop looking for the time being," Natsu says, picking up his backpack and standing.

Shocked and startled I get to my feet as well, "What do you mean? What else would we do? Where would we go?"

Natsu runs over to a sign while I try and keep up. He points to the middle arrow, with a grin of excitement, "Look here Layla," he says, "We could go to this place."

**This Way -**

**The Beautiful Town of Magnolia**

**Home of the Renowned Wizard Guild, Fairy Tail**

"Ya? So?" I'm not quite sure what he's trying to get at. What would we do at a wizard guild, especially so young? I doubt they know much about dragons, let alone where to find them.

"Igneel mentioned something to me about wizard guilds, he said they were filled with knowledgeable and powerful wizards..." he says, looking down the road that the sign says will take you to Magnolia, "We could go there, join the guild and still search for Igneel and Icieel."

I frown, unsure what to think right now. The only thing that's been on my mind since they disappeared was finding the dragons, not worrying about joining a guild. To me that only seems like a distraction that would keep Natsu and I from our real goal.

"Icieel told me about guilds too, and she said that people do a lot of jobs and are always busy, we wouldn't have time to sear-"

Natsu cuts me off with a slightly angry look, "They could help us Layla! Don't you want to find our parents?"

"Of course I do, but I don't think that joining a guild will help that much! Plus... I'm a little bit scared of what they'll think if we tell other wizards who we were raised by..."

"Why would you be scared?" he says with a frown, "We're probably more powerful than most of them, I could take them all myself if they tried to hurt us!"

"I still don't think this is a good idea!" I yell, trying to convince him. What scared me most was not what the other wizards would think, but what they'd do. Would they even believe us, would they think we're crazy or evil because of what we say? A threat?

The sound of crackling fire surprises me and I jump back. Natsu's fist was clenched and he was barely controlling the small amount of fire he accidentally made from his frustration, "Fine. I'm going to go to Fairy Tail for help, and you can go be weak and frightened somewhere else!"

"N-Natsu...?" I say, shocked, even more surprised when I feel a few tears slip down my cheeks.

Natsu's expression changes a little into one of regret, but he turns away, "If you're too weak to come with me now, then I don't see any point in you coming with me anywhere anymore. I don't want to see your weak face anymore!"

"Please! Natsu don't!" tears stream my face, but I don't run after him as he retreats down the road to Magnolia. If he doesn't want me then why should I even try?

_7 Years Later:_

The last I ever saw of the brother I grew up with was his retreating figure while I cried like a helpless child. Why I didn't go after him that day, I'm still not sure. I'd heard his name a few times while traveling in Fiore. Natsu Dragneel, Salamander, the Fire Dragon Slayer. I knew where I could find him all these years, but I never dared look. I was too frightened that he hated me for being so weak back then.

"We're part of the Fairy Tail guild," the boy with untidy black hair who Lucy introduced as Gray says. He lifts his shirt and I see a mark on his chest that I'm assuming is the mark of a Fairy Tail wizard. From what the blonde said earlier, I assume he's some sort of Ice Mage, which admittedly intrigues me greatly having only met one other wizard before who uses some form of ice magic.

Fairy Tail... That was the guild Natsu set out to join all those years ago...

"Fairy... Tail...?" I repeat, my eyes widening slightly. Toby looks up at me and I know he's confused, so do the strange wizards around me. Is it possible that these guys might know Natsu? Has he mentioned me before? ""Do... do you know a wizard nam-"

Before I finish I see what I least expect. There's Natsu running towards us. He still has that same goofy grin he had back when we were little. Tears well up in my eyes, like the day when he abandoned me. From joy or sorrow I'm not quite sure. The goof says something that I don't hear because I'm too shocked, but then he meets my eyes and I know he can tell who I am. Even though I look a lot different, he can recognize my smell from anywhere, just as I know his.

"Nat... su...?" I say, my voice is shaky and it bugs me that my tears are now slipping down my cheeks. I can't help it, all my fears of what he thinks of me seem to vanish from just seeing him here in front of me after all these years, "Natsu!"

Running to hug Natsu, I accidentally tackle him to the ground.

"Can someone tell us what's going on?!" Oh ya, the blue cat named Happy. I never thought I'd see someone like Toby.

Neither Natsu or I respond, he grins up at me and I can't help laughing a little. Climbing to our feet I smirk slightly and raise my hand, "_Talons of the Ice Dragon!" _Magic made from ice in the form of three long lines come out of the magic circle at my hand and ram into Natsu, throwing him ten feet or so away from me. I could've thrown him back far than that, but I controlled how powerful the was.

"What do you think your doing?" the red head says sternly, summoning a sword and pointing it at me. The other two wizards and Happy just stare at me in shock. Only when Natsu starts laughing does Erza put down her sword, looking a little confused.

"That was for what you did all those years ago," I say, running over and helping him to his feet. I smile but I know he can see the hurt in my eyes. The same goes with him, he's grinning broadly but I can see his guilt. I doubt anyone else notices.

"Ya," he rubs the back of his head, "Guess I kind of deserved that. Sorry sis."

"SIS?!"

Both of us look back at the others to see them all wide eyed with shock, "AND SINCE WHEN HAS THERE BEEN AN ICE DRAGON SLAYER?!" Gray adds.

"Huh. I guess you could tell from the magic I used if you're used to Natsu's magic," I say, biting my lip. Other than Tobias and a couple other friends I've made in the past few years, no one knows about what kind of magic I use. I kept it that way so news wouldn't spread of the rumored Ice Dragon Slayer.

Natsu seems to take all of this with a calm face and smiles at everyone, putting an arm around my shoulders, "Everyone, meet Layla Dragneel, my little sister. Layla, meet my Fairy Tail family!"

**Editor's Note: Thanks to everyone for reading! :) Reviews would be appreciated since I really care what you guys think. Thanks! :D **

**Also about Natsu being just a little OOC when he's young in the beginning, I made him that way because I believe he would've been a bit different before he got to Fairy Tail, and also irrational from the hurt he feels after just being abandoned by Igneel. :)**


	3. She's a Fairy Tail Wizard

**Gray's POV:**

"Everyone, meet Layla Dragneel, my little sister. Layla, meet my Fairy Tail family!"

Well. Today just went from normal to apeshit crazy.

"I'm not really your little sister," Layla protests, "We were raised more like twins than anything else."

"Well you're smaller than me, so you're my little sister," Natsu says, looking down at her. It was true, she did have a smaller frame than even Lucy, but only an inch or two shorter than Natsu, taller than most of the girls at the guild.

Natsu seems to have just noticed the bloody gash on Layla's forehead because his eyes harden, putting his hands firmly on her shoulders, "What happened. Who did this to you?!"

"Took you that long to notice, pyro?" I manage, still in complete shock like everyone else about what was going on.

"Shut up, pervert," Natsu says, more angry and less teasing than usual.

"Don't worry about it," Layla says, pushing his arms away, "I've managed to take care of myself just fine for the past seven years," she takes off a backpack I didn't notice before and grabs a cloth and bandage, quickly cleaning her face of blood and putting the bandage on.

Once she was done I finally got over my shock, noticing that the others seemed to finally feel less weird about all this as well.

"Uhh..."

I look back over at Layla who's staring at me. Her cheeks are red, and her eyes are slightly widened.

"What is it?" I ask, raising an eyebrow.

"Gray, your clothes!" Happy warns. I look down and notice that I somehow managed to loose all my clothes except my boxers. Again. Not exactly what I want to happen in front of a cute girl I just met, but it's a step better than what happened when I met Lucy for the first time.

"That happens a lot," Lucy says, sighing and waving her hand at me in a dismissive way, "Anyways, does anyone care to explain how _Natsu has a sister_ and no one knew about it?"

"I get why Natsu called you a pervert earlier," Layla says to me with an amused smile, and looks over to Lucy again, "He never mentioned me?" her voice sounds a bit hurt now, which admittedly makes a lot of sense.

"Heh..." Natsu laughs a little uncomfortably, sitting on the ground.

"Idiot," I shake my head and walk over to the Dragon Slayers, sitting down and looking at them expectantly, "You going to tell us what's going on or what?"

Erza follows suit and looks like she's about to be told a story of epic proportions, "Yes, I am very interested in this."

Lucy sits by Natsu and Erza, while Layla sighs and lays back in the grass, "Go ahead Natsu, they're your friends," she says, just a bit dismissively. Tobias, or Toby, I guess that's his nickname, lands on Layla's stomach and looks to Natsu as well for the story.

We're sitting around for a little over half an hour while Natsu talks about himself and Layla. They weren't blood related, as far as they knew, but both of their earliest memories were with each other and the dragons Igneel and Icieel. The two dragons trained their kids in the respected magic. Just as Natsu always said, one day Igneel disappeared along with Icieel. He and Layla set off to try and find their dragons but found no trace. When it came to the part where Natsu was about to explain why they took separate ways, Layla interrupted, saying the explanation for that part wasn't important.

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't intrigued by all of this. How those two could be raised by dragons, let alone the same dragons, and turn out so different was interesting. Natsu was, well Natsu, but Layla seemed more laid-back, serious, and collected. Not that I can say much on who she is or what she's like since she's spoken about two sentences to myself directly.

"Well, you're definitely coming back home with us!" Lucy says, grinning and holding out her hand to Layla.

"Yes, I'm sure you'd fit in quite well with the guild," Erza agrees, wearing that confident smile of hers.

Layla, joining Fairy Tail? I smirk a bit and nod at Lucy in agreement, "It'd be exciting to have another Dragon Slayer in the guild, not to mention your Natsu's damn sister."

She seems to be taken completely by surprise, taking Lucy's hand who pulls her up, "I-I don't know guys. I've never really thought about joining a wizard guild before."

"Well, you spent seven years looking for Icieel with nothing to show for it..." Toby says, tugging at her arm, "It wouldn't hurt to join a guild!"

"You're just excited because you met another person like you," she says amused.

"Aye!" Happy agrees.

Layla looks as if pondering the idea for a few moments. She looks at Natsu, then over at me which is a surprise. Her blue eyes meet mine and I see glint of curiosity, and maybe some longing as well. Longing for what?

"Would the other wizards in the guild even want me there?" she says to no one in particular.

"Of course," Erza says, "There's no reason we wouldn't accept a powerful wizard in need. Especially since you have family in the guild."

"Usually I wouldn't say that a relative of Natsu's joining the guild would be a good idea, but I kind of like you Layla," I say, smirking slightly.

"What are you implying exactly, ice freak?" Natsu growls, butting heads against mine.

"Exactly like what it sounds like, hothead," I summon ice to my fist, ready to get into another brawl with the annoying pink-haired pyro.

"Now's not the time you two," Erza shoves us away from each other, and drags Natsu off with her towards the train station. I hear Lucy and Happy sigh, and shrug it off. I can fight with whoever I want. About to follow Erza I hear Layla laughing quietly, trying to muffle it with her scarf.

We all head off to the train stop and head back to Magnolia. We talk just normal boring small talk, trying to get Layla involved. She only gives one or two word responses, seeming uncomfortable and nervous about the whole situation. Her cat Toby on the other hand, seemed just as energy filled as Happy and the two were raising around the train, seeing who could fly the fastest. The absolute last thing that I want is another Happy in the guild, but I guess it's not as bad as another Natsu.

***A COUPLE HOURS LATER***

Once we finally arrive back in Magnolia, Natsu grabs a startled Layla and runs off towards the guild hall.

"Natsu! Do we really have to hurry?!"

"There's no way you're taking her to the Guild right now Natsu," I say, grabbing him by his scarf to halt him, "She's still injured and probably really tired.

"She can come to my house and freshen up," Lucy suggests.

"Or we can let her decide what she wants to do," Erza says in that scary commanding voice of hers.

Layla looks at all of us, looking a bit disoriented and confused, "I can see how Natsu gets a long with you guys," she says finally, giggling softly, "I would actually like to rest or something before we go to the guild hall."

There was something about Layla that I don't quite understand yet. Something that reminds me of myself.

I look over at Lucy and see a sneaky, almost disturbing look in her eye that made me worry for Layla, "Come on, you can come to my house and we'll meet the others at Fairy Tail before dinner."

"Um, sure," the new girl says, raising an eyebrow at Lucy, obviously questioning her intentions, "Thanks Lucy."

Lucy pulls a Natsu and grabs Layla's arm, running off to her house to probably dress her up in something way too girly.

"I'm going to stay with everyone else, okay? Okay!" Tobias calls after them, then him and Happy race off to the Guild.

"Wait up you guys!" Natsu says, racing after the flying cats.

"I have a really bad feeling about all of this," I say under my breath.

Erza nods in agreement, "Two Happys, and we've allowed Lucy to kidnap Natsu's sister..." she frowns at me and shakes her head, "I never thought I would ever say anything close to that."

"It's all a bit weird, I admit. I don't think anyone's as overwhelmed as she is though."

"She's frightened," Erza says, looking me straight in the eye, "But she's more relaxed when it's you who's talking to her."

This was a shock. What'd I do to make her more relaxed with _me?_ I certainly didn't notice a difference in her depending on who was trying to talk to her.

"Nah, you've gotta be wrong," I shove my hands in my pockets and head towards the guild hall, "There's nothing I did to make her like me more than anyone else."

"Maybe it's because you're an ice wizard," she suggests. I don't say anything for a minute as we walk down the streets of Magnolia.

"Eh, not sure. Either way, let's just hope that Lucy doesn't do anything to drastic to her."

Arriving at the guild hall, Erza and I are immediately put to work on the construction. It's long and tedious work, but worth it. I still can't believe that just one member of Phantom Lord did most of the damage to our guild. Gajeel, the Iron Dragon Slayer. He has the same destructive power as Natsu, but coming from an enemy it seems to increase tenfold.

I didn't think there would be any other kids raised by dragons like Natsu, but there are at least two more that I've learned about in just the past month or so. It intrigues me to think just how powerful Layla must be, and whether her ice magic is similar to mine in any way.

It took an hour before Layla and Lucy return from Lucy's house.

"Natsuuuuuuu! Graaaayyyy!" the blonde calls, "Come look!"

At her call, I follow Natsu over to where we could hear Lucy yelling for us. She and Layla were standing in front of where the guild hall's main doors will eventually be. Lucy looking pretty smug with what she'd accomplished.

Layla seems to have washed up, and her wound was mostly healed, probably with the help of some magic lotion. She's wearing one of Lucy's short sleeved, navy blue buttoned up shirts with a pair of light blue jean shorts. Her icy blue hair is put into a long ponytail, and her eyes seemed more alive than before. Layla's chest is a good deal smaller than Lucy or Erza's, and she doesn't expose anything, but to me she stood out. She looks really... cute.

Wait, why did she stand out to me? I grunt quietly and nod at them, "You clean up nicely."

"Thanks," she raises an eyebrow at me, looking at me in a slightly challenging way. Huh.

**Kayla's POV:**

I look around at the guild hall in construction, but focus mainly on the people working in various place. Everyone seems so different, and with varying degrees of magical energy coming from everyone. Some had large amounts of magical energy, like some guy who keeps yelling at people to be more like a man, while others had smaller degrees of magical energy. No one else seems to have more magic power than my brother and his three friends though, at least at first glance.

The smells each wizard has are weird too. There's everything from a beautiful woman with white hair and a pink dress who smells mostly of perfume, to a girl not too much older than me with brunette hair who smells of ale.

"Nice guild you have here guys," I tease, knowing about the battle with a guild called Phantom Lord. It's one of the topics they all talked about while we were riding on the train. Something I didn't tell them was that I'd already heard about the battle between Fairy Tail and Phantom Lord, and that Fairy Tail had gotten into a small amount of trouble for it.

"Ya," Lucy sighs, though I'm glad to see that smug look off her face. After I'd taken a bath at her place, she tackled me into these clothes and did my hair. Not exactly something that happens within six hours of meeting someone, but I don't care too much. I can tell she has good intentions and was only trying to help, "We're re-building as fast as we can, but it's going to take a while with the new plans Mira came up with."

"We?" Gray says, giving Lucy a look, "I can't remember you ever lifting a finger to help."

Gray interests me. I know that he's an ice wizard, and the only ice wizard they have in the guild, but no one's told me quite yet what kind of ice magic he uses. There was one boy I met years earlier named Lyon who new Ice Maker magic, but he said that it's a rather rare form of magic. There was also something about how he held himself, and a secret hidden in his eyes that makes me want to get to know him. Though it doesn't seem as if he and Natsu get along very well.

My thoughts are interrupted when a short girl with blue hair followed by two guys comes over, "Hey Lu-chan, are you going to introduce us to your new friend?"

"Oh," I say, "I'm-"

"This is my sister, Layla Dragneel!" Natsu cuts in, wrapping his arm around my shoulders again. He shouts it loud enough for everyone working on construction can hear and I shrink down a little. Attention was one thing I didn't like that much, whether good or bad. It just makes me feel uncomfortable.

"Sister?" the guy who keeps saying 'Man!' asks, "Since when do you have a little sister?"

Almost everyone was looking at us now, and I have the feeling that the reaction Gray and the others gave me earlier was going to happen again.

"Well, I kind of lost her for a few years, but I found her again and here she is! She's a Dragon Slayer like me, but with ice which is a lot less cool."

I laugh a little, but stop as everyone around us yells, "SISTER?! ICE DRAGON SLAYER?!"

"Not again..." I say under my breath, wanting more than anything to just be able to go by without everyone looking at me. It seems being Natsu's sister doesn't allow that though.

A small man with white hair and a yellow robe walks over, looking interested and official like. I didn't notice him before, but now that I do I can tell that he's the master of the guild just from the masses of magical energy I sense coming from him.

"Ah, Layla, and what interest do you have in Fairy Tail?"

I speak up before Natsu can talk for me, "I want to join," my voice sounds way too quiet and slightly frightened. Frowning I push Natsu off me and speak up more this time, "I wish to join your guild, as long as that's alright with you."

"Mirajane?" he says to the woman with the pink dress I noticed earlier and guess that that's Mira, "Would you mind giving Miss Dragneel the guild mark so she's an official member?"

"Right away Master Makarov," Mira says. She comes over with a kind smile on her expression, and a stamp with the Fairy Tail symbol on it.

Before I can ask what she's doing, she places the stamp on my right shoulder. Once she takes it off, the guild mark appears in a light blue there. I look over at Natsu to see him grinning. His red guild mark is in the same place so I can't help smiling, feeling like it only makes sense for it to be in the same place.

"Welcome to Fairy Tail," Erza says, smiling at me.

**Editor's Note: Tell me what you think guys. :) Thanks for reading everyone! :D**


	4. She Has a Secret

**Natsu's POV:**

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN MY HOUSE NATSU!" Lucy screams at me, only wearing a towel. She must've just gotten out of the shower again.

"Ah calm down, I'm not staying. Where's Layla?" I say, disappointed that she's not here. Her scent wasn't fresh in the house anymore, "I thought you two had left together." I grin a little at Lucy's familiar scent, which is mostly vanilla and orange perfume. Here in her house the smell is much stronger.

"Eh?" Lucy gives me a look and sits on her bed, "Oh, she didn't come with me. She told me she was going to have a walk around Magnolia, get used to the town. I offered to show her around but she wanted to be alone."

That's a little strange, Layla prefers company rather than being alone. She used to practically cling to me whenever we weren't training.

"Okay, thanks Lucy, bye," I say, going back out the window I came in through.

"And next time use the front door like a normal person!" she calls after me.

I laugh and wave at her before running off into town. The smells and sounds all around me as I run down the streets of Magnolia are usually all so familiar and welcome. So used to the different scents, they all blend and nothing stands out unless I try to pinpoint it.

One smell trailing from Lucy's house towards the opposite side of town sticks out, not because I don't recognize it, but because it's one that's never been in Magnolia before. A girl who smells of sage and dragons. It comes from the person I spent the first half of my life with by my side. Until the day I was the biggest idiot.

I stop and stare at the ground, not sure if I should keep going. There's the chance that Layla hates me for what I did to her all those years ago, and didn't show it because Erza and everyone else was there as well.

Well, I have to talk to her if she hates me or not, especially if she's choosing to be alone. It just doesn't make sense, it's not like her.

It doesn't take too long for me to find her. Layla is sitting up on a hill right outside of town, looking down at a valley on the other side.

"Where's Toby, just earlier you were telling everyone that he never left your side," I say, teasing her lightly and sit next to her. My hands rest behind me as I lean back, lounging in the warm evening air. The sunset looks like a thousand fires in a dozen different colors spreading across the sky.

"Where's Happy?" she counters, not looking over at me, "You said the same thing," Layla pulls her knees up and hugs them to her chest

"Mm," I half frown, and poke her head, "Why are you all by yourself? You hate being alone, told me so yourself."

The warm breeze around us slows, feeling more cold now. Small amounts of coldness comes from Layla as her gaze hardens, still not looking away from something in the valley. I look myself but I can't see anything that would catch her attention.

"Then why did you leave me?"

I freeze, the cold air coming from her suddenly feeling too cold. Even for me.

"If you knew I hated being by myself, then why did you leave me all alone?" Layla says again, her voice shaking just a little bit.

We both stay silent. She knows why I left. I was irrational, and being an idiot.

"The question you should be asking, is why I didn't look for you after all these years?" I say sighing, and lay back in the grass.

A flash of a smile shows on my sister's face for a moment, "Ya, I guess that is what I should be asking."

"The answer is, I didn't know what I'd say, or what you'd think of me. Whether I was a horrible person in your eyes or just the stupid brother who made a mistake. I still don't know, actually."

Layla finally looks over at me, her eyes filled with the old laughter I was used to coming from her. Unsure why, I still grin back, "What is it?"

"That's close to reason why I didn't go to Fairy Tail in search of you," she says, starting to laugh a little, "And I don't hate you, idiot."

I laugh with her as she punches my shoulder lightly, "You could've told me earlier, you know."

"Nah," she says with a small smile, "your friends don't need to know about what happened all those years ago. I don't hold you against it, and I'm sure that's why you never mentioned me to them. If you did, there was the fear that they'd judge you for leaving me that day."

Sitting up, I blink at her and grin, "You still know me better than anyone else, even though we haven't talked for years."

"Your my brother idiot, if I didn't than I'd be a fail sister," she grins and shoves me, not too lightly either, so I fall over again.

"Hey!" I laugh and shove her back, not intending to hurt her but she flinches, pretty badly too, "Sorry," I grin, trying to show I really didn't mean it.

"Oh, don't worry," she says quickly, looking down, "It didn't hurt because of you."

"Eh?" I say, giving her a confused look. Then I remember the gash on her forehead this morning that she tended to, and the conversation I had earlier with Lucy while Erza and Gray introduced Layla to a bunch of the people at Fairy Tail.

_ "Natsu, I don't think Layla's been doing okay lately."_

_ "What do you mean? She seems healthy to me."_

_ "No.. I mean.. When she got out of the shower, I could see scars on her stomach and chest, as well as some injuries that she wouldn't let me look at or tend to. You should ask her about it."_

Oh. I put a hand on her shoulder lightly, making her flinch again, "Layla, who did this to you?" I say, trying to not let all the anger I had at whoever did this into my voice.

"I told you earlier, don't worry about it," she says, and shoves my hand away.

"It does matter, because I want to know who hurt you this morning."

Layla gives me an annoyed look and lays back in the grass, "I could've kicked their asses if I wanted to, but I didn't," she says. Something flashes in her eyes for a moment, but it's gone too quick before I can figure out what it is, "For reasons that are none of your business. It's some group of people who call themselves Naked Mummy. I think they're a small dark guild. They attacked me because they thought I was some guild member coming to attack them I think."

What surprises me most about what she says, is the lack of caring and almost calm way of how she says it. That's not enough to not piss me off. I'm not even trying when flames appear around my clenched fists, "_They're_ the ones who did this to you?" I say, jumping to my feet, about to run off back to the town we found Layla in to kick some ass.

Before I can take a step, Layla grabs my leg and trips me so I fall on the ground.

"You're still a big hothead," she says with a small laugh, "I'm fine, no need to destroy a town just to give those guys a beating. And look," she raises the sleeve of her shirt up so I can see her shoulder. Admittedly, it was just a large bruise and not that bad of an injury, "I'm not that hurt, so calm down."

"Fine," I pout and sit on the ground, wrapping my scarf around my mouth in a protest kind of way as if to say I'm not talking to her anymore.

We stay silent for a few minutes, just sitting there. Content with her familiar scent and the sounds of her breathing, I remember times when we'd have fights like Gray and I have, but more playful and less 'I hate you, what the hell is your problem?' fights. She was less more energetic than I remember, and more withdrawn. The fact that Layla isn't going to say why she didn't fight back, annoys me and makes me wonder why she changed so drastically.

"You know you never did tell me why you were out here alone, if you do hate it so much," I say, looking down at her.

"I was left to my own devices, with no one to rely on at the age of nine. I learned to rely on myself and cope with being alone. I feel most comfortable when I'm alone now," she say quietly. The traces of sadness and hurt in her voice make me feel guilty all over again, "Even when I found Toby, he's quiet most of the time and relies on me, so it didn't change much."

"Well, you're not alone now, so get used to it!" I grin and jump to my feet, trying to cheer her up, "Now come on, we need to have a proper fight. See how strong we've gotten in the past seven years!"

"Uh," she starts, and I grab her scarf to pull her up, "I, I don't really want to. I think I should go find a hotel to stay in tonight soon, before it gets too late. Toby should be somewhere near the guild hall so I'll go there first."

I don't have the time to stop her before she runs off down the hill, back into town. That was odd. Why did she leave so quickly just when I mention a harmless fight to show off our magic? Annoyed I being to make my way back down the hill when I hear a howl from the other side of the hill. Looking, I see a lone wolf cub all by himself, roaming around the valley that Layla was staring at earlier. Was that what she was looking at?

**Kayla's POV:**

Damn. I knew that Natsu would bring up something like that eventually. It's like him to want to show off his magic by having a fight. Normally I wouldn't be against it but... I sigh, summoning some ice to my hand and stare at it. If only I could use my magic as carelessly as I everyone else can. How I used to be able to.

Heading back into town I feel bad, realizing I lied to Natsu. I can't go find myself a hotel to stay at because I don't even have any money to afford it. Going back to Natsu and asking to stay at his place would mean having to tell him why I lied, and if I did that then... well he'd react even worse than before with the Naked Mummy business.

"Hey!"

I look over at the sound of a certain brown cat's voice, "Hey Toby, finally ditch your new friend to come back to me?" I say lightly, laughing just a little.

"I got tired," he says. Yawning he lands on my head, "I think I'm just going to sleep here for now. Any idea where we're staying for the night? Your brother seems just as nice as you told me he was, can we stay at his house?"

"Nah," I say with a shrug, "You just sleep up there and I'll find a place for myself."

Tobias falls asleep as I'm still finishing that sentence, and I can't help laughing a little. Hmm. I could go to Lucy's house, and ask if I could stay for the night, but then I would have to deal with her trying to get me into those girly clothes I refused earlier. Erza scares me a little, and she lives in the Fairy Tail girls' dormitory, Fairy Hills.

Not to mention I only met these girls earlier today.

"Hey dragon freak, what are you doing wandering out and about so late at night?" I turn around to see Gray smirking at me, thankfully still clothed. No one's told me why he randomly strips, but from what I can gather it seems like he does it without even realizing he's taken all his clothes off, "and what's with the cat on your head?" he says, obviously teasing me.

"You know, just trying to find a sewer to sleep in. And the cat? A stray I found down the street," I say, surprised to find myself joking around with him.

He seems a bit surprised by my response, and walks over, "Initially I thought you weren't as weird as that flame freak, but maybe you're just weird in a different way."

I smile and shrug, "Maybe, and in all seriousness I'm just going to find a place to sleep tonight."

Why do I feel so comfortable around him? Almost as comfortable as I do around Natsu, but that at least makes sense. Maybe it helps that Gray's fairly attractive, and has a laid-back personality like I do. Wait, what? My cheeks flush a little at the thought, and I find myself looking into his dark blue eyes. Almost the opposite of my light ones, in a way.

"You could get a room at Fairy Hills like most of the other girls," he says. Gray leans back against the wall of a building, his hands in his pockets.

"Don't have any money," I say, feeling a little embarrassed and rub the back of my neck, "I'm going to go on some jobs this week so I can afford it."

"We can't have that, now can we?" he says, smiling a little, "Come on in," he says, sounding more casual than I would expect. He turns around and walks into a small apartment.

"This your place?" I ask, standing in the doorway, feeling a little uncomfortable again. No, I shouldn't. What Natsu said earlier was right, I need to get over my want of being alone and get used to being in the company of other people again.

"It's not much, it's pretty small, and I don't keep it that tidy but ya," he picks up a pair of underwear from the ground and tosses it into a hamper.

"Why do you want me to come in?" I ask, ignoring the fact that he had stripped again. It was disconcerting, but he still had his boxers on which made it much less awkward.

"Isn't it obvious? You need a place to stay, I've got an extra mattress back in my room." he says. His tone makes me think he's annoyed that it's come to the point where I need his help.

"No it's fine, I can go find somewhere else. I'm used to staying on the street, or sleeping in the middle of the field. I just need to grab my stuff from Lucy's house..." I say, trailing off at the end because Gray starts giving me a weird, confused look, "What?"

"You'd rather go sleep in the streets somewhere than accept my offer to sleep here?"

"To be fair, I only met you today," I counter.

"You're not very trusting are you? You're even less like Natsu than I thought."

I used to be much more similar to him. Thinking about it, I feel a little sad. If we'd stayed together all these years, there's the chance I wouldn't be so withdrawn. I could probably still use my magic whenever I wanted as well.

"Come on Layla, you deserve to sleep in a real bed for once."

Startled I look to my left and realize Tobias had woken, and was flying by my shoulder.

"Oh... oh fine." I give in grudgingly, still not leaving the doorway, "but my stuff is still at Lucy's house."

Gray gives me a devilish look, pulling me in by my scarf and closing the door, "You can get that in the morning, you don't need anything tonight do you?"

"What's up with you Fairy Tail wizards and forcing people to do stuff?" I mutter under my breath, "Ya I guess so, I'm fine sleeping in this."

"Come on then," Gray moves his hands as if to put them in his pockets and seems to finally realize that he wasn't wearing any clothes, hence no pants pockets to put his hands into, "Hey! Why didn't you tell me my clothes were gone?!"

"How do you _not notice_ when you take your clothes off?" I ask, finding his reaction amusing as he hurries to put his clothes back on.

"It's a bad habit of mine," he shrugs, motioning for me to follow, "This is my bedroom, and I have an extra mattress I can put on the floor on the other side of it, if you want," he smirks a little at me, then adds, "I also have the couch you can sleep on."

I blush a little. Why would he offer for me to sleep in his room? That's a bit weird... Isn't it? I don't know.

"The couch is fine, thanks."

He walks over to a dresser and pulls out some sweatpants of his, "Here, it'll be more comfortable than your shorts," he says, tossing them to me. I catch them and hold them up to myself, almost laughing at how ridiculous it would look.

"These are way too big!"

"Still more comfortable, either way I'm going to bed now. See you in the morning."

Before I can say anything, Gray's clothes were gone again as he flops into bed, snoring obnoxiously.

"He's weird," Toby comments, flying back into the living room.

"Ya," I agree.

It takes me a while to fall asleep, though Tobias finds no difficulty in it at all. He fell asleep on a cushioned chair right away. I can't help feeling uncomfortable and just a little unsafe. What reassures me is how Gray seems to be friends with Natsu. They don't seem to get along very well, but that doesn't mean that they aren't friends in some way. Also the fact that Gray is pretty nice, despite his scowling a good deal of the time.

Once I'm asleep, I dream of Fairy Tail.

**Editor's Note: To everyone who started reading this within the first few days of me publishing it, I changed the title of the story because I found it more fitting. :) If you don't like it let me know. **

**Also, as always, thanks for reading and reviews are greatly appreciated. ^_^**


	5. The Curse of Magic

**Gray's POV:**

I wake up like any other day, fairly late. Hungry I get out of bed, not bothering with clothes because they'll just come off later today, and go to the kitchen.

There's not much in my fridge so I grab some milk. About to look for a cup I hear a sigh behind me and spin around, putting my fist over my hand in order to use my Maker Magic. Oh, it's only Layla. I forgot I let her stay over last night. The cat is also asleep on my chair. She looks less guarded and more, I'm not sure, serene and happy while sleeping.

Layla's hair was let down, and I see it's almost as long as Erza's. The sweatpants I idiotically gave to her last night are lain on the back of the couch. Why'd I even do that? Relaxing again I notice that I dropped the milk on the ground, letting it spill everywhere.

Shit. I scowl and clean up the milk that spilled, and go back to looking for a cup. Not finding a clean one, I just decide to chug it from the carton.

"You're such a guy," says a voice behind me.

I turn around and see Layla quietly laughing at me, trying to wake Tobias up from the looks of it.

"What do you mean?" I say, scowling again.

"The milk, you're chugging it straight from the carton," she says, and hugs a half-awake Toby to her chest. _(Note: Like Wendy does with Carla)_

"All my dishes are dirty, so I didn't have any other choice," I say, and walk over to her. Layla's cheeks flush slightly. Eh?

"Your clothes Gray," she says, obviously amused which bugs me for some reason. Oh ya, maybe I should've put some one.

Before I'm able to go back to my room, or even respond, I feel a large wave of heat and look over at my door.

"What are you doing with my sister, Gray?!"

Damn, it's the pyro. Natsu bursts through the door surrounded by fire, looking pretty pissed off.

"Why'd you burn down my door flame freak?!"

I glare at him and he butts his head against mine. He summons flames and I summon ice magic.

"Why is my sister sleeping at your house, ice princess?!"

"How'd you even find her so quickly, dragon freak?!"

"Guys."

"I can smell her, ice cube, and what are you trying to pull!? You can't just mess with her like you do everyone else!"

This pisses me off. I was only trying to give her a place to stay for the night.

"She wouldn't be staying at my house if you thought to offer your place! Some brother you are!"

"Actually, I have a good reason for th-"

Natsu punches me before I can react, and I fly through the now non existent door and into the street.

"The hell Natsu!? This time I didn't even do anything! I was just helping her out!" I yell, though he doesn't seem very convinced and runs out to me.

"You're trying to get back at me for something through her, aren't you?!" Natsu yells, summoning more fire to his fists.

"GUYS!" Layla runs out after us, looking annoyed.

"Ya right you pyromaniac, can't I do something helpful without you thinking I have some other motive?" I say, starting to summon my Maker Magic.

"If she _needed_ a place to stay last night, she would've come to me!"

"What's going on?" I hear Happy ask Layla over to the side, but don't look.

"You're so lucky Erza's not here right now, 'cause now no one can stop me from turning you into an ice cube."

"DAMMIT YOU TWO!"

Natsu and I both ignore Layla, "_Ice Mak-_"

"_Piercing Talons of the Ice Dragon!"_

Ice much colder than mine comes in a wave over the fire freak and I, knocking us back twenty feet or so. I look over at Natsu and he looks over at me. My confusion and surprise reflecting back at me through his face.

Looking back over at where Layla is, her hand is on the doorframe and she looks exhausted and annoyed with our fighting, which actually makes me feel a little guilty for getting into a fight with Natsu, for once, "Are you alright Layla?" Toby asks, flying at her shoulder and sounding worried.

"I'm fine, Toby just please," she says, shooing him away. Layla sounds surprisingly tired, which is weird considering she sounded wide awake while we talked before Natsu bursted in. I get up and scowl at Natsu, who scowls back at me while Layla walks over, "Do you two really fight over such trivial things?"

"Aye," Natsu says with a sigh, "That's Natsu for you."

"Oh good, you broke them up before I had to," says a familiar voice that strikes a small cord of fear in my heart. Erza walks over in her casual clothes, surprisingly not her normal armor, carrying a basket. Behind her, looking a little annoyed, is Lucy.

"How'd you know we were fighting?" Natsu says, giving Erza a look.

"I was on my way to find you all when I heard you two screaming from down the street," she says flatly, "it's not too hard to find you."

Layla looks over at Erza and seems to come to a realization of sorts. Maybe how Erza keeps the two of us from fighting when she can.

"Why were you looking for us?" I say, trying to get past the fight so Erza doesn't beat us to the pulp.

"I had the idea that we could all go have a picnic up on the hill, as a sort of welcoming for Layla," Lucy says, smiling brightly, "All you did for me was make me fight giant monkeys and destroy the guild hall, but I thought Layla deserves something nicer."

"That job was fun!" Natsu protests.

"Aye!" Happy agrees.

Lucy gives them both a look, "It was cold is what it was."

"You guys, it's really fine. We don't need to have a picnic or anything for me," Layla says, looking uncomfortable again, "Don't have to do anything special for me."

"Of course we do," the red head says, grabbing Layla's scarf and pulling her towards the edge of town, "I have cake."

The bluenette looks timid at first then laughs a little, following along.

The six of us all go up a hill on the outskirts of town. Erza and Lucy set up food and a blanket while Natsu tries to get Layla to spar with him.

"Come on! We don't even have to use magic, we could just have a little fight!"

"Oh fine, you dope," Layla says, with a small smile. It's taking her time, but I think she's slowly getting used to all of us.

I lean against a tree and watch them. Layla throws a punch at Natsu who returns with a roundhouse kick. They spar for a bit, and seem pretty well matched. It takes a few minutes for her, but soon Layla's laughing and having a good time with it. Erza, Lucy, and the two cats watch as well while the two siblings have fun.

To my surprise, and probably everyone else's, Layla turns out the victor.

"Regret your decision to fight me?" she says, with an amused laugh and helps Natsu back up.

"Wow! You've gotten so good! I can't wait to see you use magic!" Natsu says with a grin.

"We saw it earlier, remember? When she knocked us both down?" I remind him, sitting down at the picnic with the other girls.

Natsu sits next to Lucy with an annoyed look, putting his hands on his knees, "But we didn't _see _it. We were just, you know, attacked by it."

Layla walks over and sits in-between Natsu and I, "Maybe a bit later, Natsu," she says, nudging Natsu with a smile, "And anyways, it's not fair that you all know what magic I use when I don't know what any of you except Natsu uses."

"Oh, I forgot we haven't told you yet," Lucy says with a superior smirk, and takes out one of her keys, "I'm a Celestial Mage Wizard. _Open: Gate of the Maiden! Virgo!_"

Virgo comes out of a light and bows to Lucy, "Am I here for punishment, princess?"

"Wow!" Toby says, flying over to Virgo, "A person came out of your key!"

"It's a celestial spirit," Lucy corrects, closing the gate again, "Thanks Virgo."

"Not at all, princess."

Layla smiles, brightly instead of the small and timid one for once. It fits her. She looks a lot cuter and less small or weak. Layla's obviously not a weak girl, but her appearance did make me think that at first, "That's so cool, I've heard of Celestial magic before, but I've never seen a mage who could use that magic before!" she says, seeming really amazed.

"Oh, it's nothing at all," Lucy says, obviously happy with the praise. Knowing her, it'll probably go to her head.

I pick up a sandwich and start to eat it as Layla looks over at me, her blue eyes alive with curiosity like before, "What about you Gray? I heard Lucy say earlier that you're an Ice Mage, but what kind of ice magic do you use?"

Swallowing my sandwich I smirk, "_Ice Make: Shield._"

An icy wall appears a few feet to our right, Layla looks over at it and smiles a little, "I met a boy who uses similar magic to you. It's Ice Make magic, except his creations moved. It was a guy named Lyon, have you met him before?"

Lyon. Just the name makes me clench my fists in frustration. Everyone else except Toby also tense a little.

"What is it?" she asks. From her voice I think she feels as if she's done something wrong.

"Nothing, I know Lyon, we trained together. He's turned into a bit of a bastard now, but, you know."

She blinks at me, taking that in and sighs, "I'm not going to ask."

"My turn."

I look over surprised to see Erza standing, "_Requip!_" She requips into her Fire Empress armor, and then back before sitting back down to eat.

"All your magic is so diverse and powerful," Layla says smiling at all of us. We sit around, eat and talk for about an hour or so. Layla gets more comfortable and talks more than she has before. At one point Natsu and her share some joke that none of us get, but they find absolutely hilarious. The more Layla lets go and gets more talkative, the more I realize that I like her.

The fact she uses ice magic, her smile, eyes and laugh. She's more naive than Lucy, but also strong willed and defiant towards Natsu mostly, despite her small stature and innocent look. All of it's intriguing, but why? Why am I thinking about this, she's Natsu's sister.

Grunting I pick up another slice of cake and start to eat it, "You know Layla, I think it's your turn to show us your magic," I say, smirking at her.

"No!" Toby says, coming over to me, "Uh, I mean, she's too tired to."

"Come on, what's the big deal Tobias," Lucy says with a sigh, "Let her speak for herself too, I'm interested to see what Ice Dragon Slayer Magic is like. Erza nods in agreement and Natsu pulls Layla up to her feet.

"Have you figured out anything new since we were little?" Natsu asks an overwhelmed looking Layla. I can't tell what else she's feeling or thinking anymore, as if she's becoming more guarded again.

Taking her arm away from Natsu's grip, Layla gives in with a sigh and nods, "Fine, I'll show you," Toby flies over to her, looking like he's about to protest until Layla smiles reassuringly. Something's going on between those two, and they're not talking about it for some reason. It's also quite strange that Layla has been putting off using her magic for so long. Could it have to do with why she sounded tired after separating Natsu and I?

She walks over to the edge of the hill and summons ice around her like Natsu does with his fire. I notice that Toby's looking at her nervously, despite Layla seeming calm.

"_Secret Art of the Ice Dragon Slayer! Crystal Storm: Piercing Ice Blizzard!_"

We all look at her in amazement as ice comes out of a large magic circle in pure masses. It really was a piercing blizzard. Snow, icicles, and sheer cold went out above the valley that was down below. Once done, she looks over and smiles a little at us, "See?"

Toby flies over to her quickly, worry evident on his expression. I don't see any reason to be, considering Layla seems completely fine.

"That was so cool! You couldn't do that before!" Natsu grins, annoyingly over excited.

"It's been seven years, of.. of practice," Layla replies, sounding tired again. Huh. She starts to walk back over to everyone, and suddenly cries out in pain, clutching herself.

"Layla!" Tobias says, looking more worried. Before anyone can react Layla cries out in pain again and falls over, unconscious. I get up immediately and run over, Natsu having the same idea and we catch her before she can hit the ground. I look down and see her face extorted in pain, even though she's unconscious. Getting more worried I try and figure out what's going on.

"What happened?!" Natsu yells frustrated, not directed to anyone but just frustrated in general.

"I told you," Toby says, tears in his eyes, "I told you not to make her use her magic. And she overdid it too, to try and impress you guys."

**Editor's Note: I hope you like the chapter. :) Sorry it's a bit of a cliffhanger, ;) Review and tell me what you think. :D**


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